One day you wash up on the beach, wet and naked. Another day you wash back out. In between, the scenery changes constantly.

Saturday, February 9, 2013

O'Malley Spams Maryland Hunters with Gun Control Message

From Bert, who received this em-mail as a result of giving his em-mail address to the state with his hunting license:

Dear Friend,

I wanted to make sure you are aware of the Maryland Department of Natural Resources' latest Junior Waterfowl Hunting Day, which takes place this Saturday, February 9. Junior Hunting Days provide wonderful opportunities for young hunters and their adult mentors to get outside and enjoy the proud tradition of hunting in Maryland.

Hunting is a part of our history and is woven into the fabric of our State’s culture. We appreciate everything you and all other conservation-minded hunters do for Maryland.

I also want to take this opportunity to address you directly about the proposal we recently introduced to reduce gun violence. Our goal is to enact common sense proposals to keep guns out of the hands of dangerous criminals, and to try to reduce the risk of a mass shooting like the one that occurred in Newtown.

Let me be clear: We are committed to protecting hunters and their traditions. That's why we specifically carved out shotguns and rifles from the licensing requirements of our bill.

This bill will NOT impact your ability to introduce a young hunter to the sport and the conservation stewardship ethic borne of that experience.

Good luck on Saturday and I look forward to hearing your stories from the field.

Sincerely,

Martin O’Malley

Governor

The idea that the proposed legislation would prevent hunters from introducing young people to hunting comes from a provision in the law that prevents the possession of weapons and ammunition by minors. The question is whether or not carrying guns and ammunition in the field for shooting and hunting constitutes "possession" under the law would seem to be a matter of interpretation, first by any officer who finds a minor with a weapon or ammunition, second by the a prosecuting attorney, and third, by the administration that sends the directives out to the Department of Natural Resources Police, and the Prosecutors. Do we trust the state to continue to make exemptions for hunting activities, or will those policies be altered once the law is put in place for a while, and another excuse for pushing gun control arises.

The letter also raises a privacy issue. Does the law allow the state it's data base of hunters (i.e. a class of gun owner) to be used for a blatantly political outreach? It's not clear from their privacy policy: